Chapter ５

"That's your business."

As I move past him, he says, "What, you can't control your emotions after meeting an old flame? If that's the case, I think I've overestimated you."

I spin around and glare at him. "Tonight was never about me! You brought me here for your own plan!"

Sterling looks past me at someone behind me and says, "Hey, Vincent." He stands beside me and places a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

He says in a quiet voice, "Don't leave yet. Stay. For me." He leaves me to go talk to his friend. I watch them walk away and realize that Vincent was the man on the balcony.

Back in the banquet hall, Percy and Olvia are holding microphones and glasses.

"I will always love you," Percy says. It seems I've missed some sort of toast. Percy and Estelle kiss deeply. I turn away. I want to run away from all of this.

Sterling returns and grabs my shoulder, forcing me to look at the happy couple on display. He tells me, "To see how deep they love each other is to know how deep your hatred is."

A man looks at me and says, "Laura!"

Sterling growls at him. "She is not Laura." He pulls me away, and this time it's to leave the party.

We return to his apartment. I can tell that Sterling isn't happy. He pours himself a glass of something dark and sits on the couch. I sit beside him.

"Who is Laura?" I ask him.

Gabriel enters and asks if we need anything before he leaves for the night.

"Take her upstairs," Sterling tells him.

It's clear that I'll get no answers from Sterling tonight, so I follow Gabriel to my bedroom. Before he leaves, I ask him who Laura is.

"I'm not the one to answer that," he tells me, then tells me goodnight.

I sit on my bed in the dark. I pull a small locket from my dress and open it. It's a picture of me and my parents. I was so little back then…

I hold it against my chest and say, "Dad, I think I made the wrong choice. I feel trapped, but there was no other option."

I put the locket away and look out the window. It's snowing. I can hear music downstairs, a guitar and a man singing.

So if you really love Christmas, c'mon and let it snow…

I pour myself a glass of wine and stare at the moon as I drink.

I hear the living room door open and close, and I feel a bit of fear. I go have a look, putting on a pair of slippers. I open my bedroom door and a figure throws himself onto me.

Just as I'm about to scream, I realize that it's Sterling. He's incredibly drunk. He's trying to say something but I can't understand his slurred words. I try to push him off of me, and he falls onto my bed, fast asleep.

I sigh as I stare at him, unsure what to do. I can't lift him. So I remove his shoes and his tie and plan to leave him there. Just as I turn to go, he grabs me and pulls me onto the bed. I let out a shriek.

"Do I scare you that much?" Sterling asks. His breath smells like scotch.

"Let me go," I whisper.

He kisses me. Hard. I struggle at first, but then the kiss turns soft, and I stop resisting.

The sun shines into my bedroom and I reluctantly open my eyes. It's early. I'm startled to find a hand on my chest, and I turn my head in a panic.

Sterling's shirt is unbuttoned, revealing his perfectly formed chest muscles. The sun shines on his face through the window and accentuates his beautiful face.

I raise my hand to touch his eyelashes, but then pull my hand back and place it on his hand. I lift his hand quietly, trying to get out of his embrace. I don't want what happened last night to be real, and I need to hide.

Sterling holds me closer. He's awake. He laughs quietly at me. I don't know what to do, so I lie there and pretend to be asleep. A few minutes later, Sterling gets out of bed. He pulls the blanket over me as if he's tucking me in and leaves the bedroom. Outside I hear him tell Becca not to wake me.

I wait a few more minutes before I get out of the bed. I slip out of the room with my slippers and clothes in my arms, like some common adulteress.

Sterling isn't in the living room or the kitchen, so I assume he's in his own room or bathroom. I sit at the dining table, a bit confused as to why I can't remember what happened last night.

Gabriel enters the apartment and sits beside me at the table. He sets down a stack of paperwork and tells me Sterling needs to look over some documents. Becca greets him and goes into the kitchen to prepare us some breakfast.

Gabriel smiles at me after Becca is gone and says, "How are you, Victoria?"

"I'm okay," I tell him. I'm too shaken to return the question, but he doesn't seem to mind.

The sound of Sterling humming comes from the main bathroom.

"Just okay?" Gabriel says. "You seem a little better than that."

His eyes wander to my chest and I realize that my top is unbuttoned and is revealing a bit more than just cleavage. I blush and close my blouse.

Sterling emerges from the bathroom wearing a blazer. He's always dressed so formally, no matter what the occasion is, even if it's just breakfast in his own apartment. He looks at me and Gabriel.

"What's going on?" he asks.

In an awkward moment, Gabriel and I both shrug at the same time and say "Nothing" together.

My stomach growls and I say, "Sit down, Sterling. Becca is almost ready with breakfast."

But I stand and make my way into the bathroom to pull myself together and to make sure there aren't any more surprises like the one I gave Gabriel.